After completing his education in England, King became a clerk in the banking house of Hope & Co. in Amsterdam. King returned to the United States in 1806, and began working for Archibald Gracie, a merchant. He became partner with Gracie in 1810, the same year he married Gracie's daughter, Eliza. King was captain of a volunteer regiment in the early part of the War of 1812, although he opposed the War. He served in the 37th New York State Legislature as a Federalist member of the New York Assembly from July 1, 1813 until June 30, 1814, before becoming a newspaper publisher. A Democrat, he was editor of the New York American from 1823 to 1845, where he repeatedly clashed with Mordecai Noah, then Editor of the New York Enquirer; Noah nicknamed King "Charles the Pink".
President of Columbia College
On 7 November 1849, he succeeded Nathaniel Fish Moore to become the ninth president of Columbia College, holding the role until 1864. On his formal inauguration, on November 28, 1849, he spoke on the duties and responsibilities of the university staff, and espoused the virtues of copying the English university system. During his term as President, the Columbia Law School was founded, the Columbia Medical School, which had been discontinued in 1810, was re-established, and the Columbia School of Mines. In addition to serving as president, he was a trustee from 1825 to 1838, and again from 1849 to 1867. He resigned the presidency in 1865 due to health concerns, and visited Europe with the intention of remaining abroad several years.
Personal life
On March 12, 1810, he married first to Eliza Gracie, the eldest surviving daughter of shipping magnate Archibald Gracie. Eliza's sister Sarah Gracie was married to Charles' brother James, another sister, Esther Rogers Gracie, was married to the Lt. Gov. of Rhode Island William Beach Lawrence, and her youngest sister, Mary Ann Gracie, was married to Judge Michael Ulshoeffer. Before his wife's untimely death in 1825, they were the parents of eight children together, including:
Eliza Gracie King, who married Rev. Charles Henry Halsey
Esther Rogers King, who married Brig. Gen. James Green Martin
Rufus King, who married Susan McCown Eliot
William Gracie King, who married Adeline Taylor McKee
Charles King, Jr., who died at sea
Alice Consett King, who married Rev. Andrew Bell Paterson
The year following Eliza's death in 1825, Charles married secondly Henrietta Liston Low on October 20, 1826. Henrietta was the daughter of Nicholas Low, a merchant and member of the New York State Assembly. Before King's death in 1867, they were the parents of six children, including:
Anne Johnstone King
Cornelius Low King, who married Julia Ellen Lawrence, and later, Janet De Kay
